Scheme for Legal/Financial Assistance to Indian Women Deserted by their Overseas Indian Spouse

Scheme for Legal/Financial
Assistance to Indian Women Deserted by their Overseas Indian Spouse

The Minister for
External Affairs and for Overseas Indian Affairs Smt. Sushma Swaraj in reply to
a question in Lok Sabha today said that there is a scheme for legal/financial
assistance to Indian women deserted by their overseas Indian spouses. Such
assistance is provided through Indian Missions in 13 countries namely USA, UK,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The details of the scheme are available
on the Ministry’s website (www.moia.gov.in).

As per information made available by Indian Missions of these 13 countries, the
total number of beneficiaries who have received legal/financial assistance till
15 December, 2015 under this scheme during 2012 to 2015 (so far) is 75.

Under the scheme, Indian women deserted by their overseas Indian spouses
receive through Indian Missions, assistance upto US$ 3000 per case for
developed countries and US$2000 per case for developing countries. This assistance
is provided by Missions through their empanelled legal counsel/ Women’s
organizations/NGOs or Indian Community Associations.

Since overseas Indians who desert their spouses, are living outside India,
aggrieved Indian women are seeking redressal under the Indian legal system as
well as from the judiciary in the foreign country where the overseas Indian is
residing.

Assistance provided through the scheme enabled the Indian women, in some cases,
to meet legal costs such as documentation and preparatory work for filing a
case against the overseas Indian spouse and other assistance with regard to
judicial proceedings; counselling and, in some other cases, assistance was for
financial support for sustenance, accommodation, etc.